In a Land Far, Far Away
by Tear of Light
Summary: A series of one-shots featuring our favorite characters. From Romance to Mystery, from Canon to AU, there's a little something for everyone. #4: There was no such place as home for Weiss. Not since her mother died. Then Ruby dragged Weiss to Uncle Qrow's house for the holidays. Team RWBY. Friendship. Slight AU.
1. Even the Strongest of Us Gets Sick

**In a Land Far, Far Away**

_**A/N:**__ Welcome all to my first RWBY drabble series. Here you will find a series of one shots pertaining to the characters and world of RWBY. Some will be canon. Some will be not. Some will feature pairings. Some will not. Some will be AUs. And some will be not. Some will focus on our favorite main characters. Some will not. Some will be short. Some will be long. And some will be in between. From the mundane to the absolute ridiculous, you'll find these stories and more. _

_As I will be posting multi-chaptered stories in the near future, this story will be updated on a monthly basis. This may change in the future (when things settle down a bit in real life), but for now, think of this story as just a little something extra to my other stories. :)_

_A huge and awesome thank you goes out to Skire for doing up the cover for this story. You can find the original picture here: __**tinyurl[insertperiod]com/l6yw2dp**_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

**Summary: **Yang was sick. How it happened, or when it happened wasn't important. All that mattered now was taking care of her partner. Pre Faunus!Blake x Yang.

* * *

*** ~ Even the Strongest of Us Gets Sick ~ ***

_~ Beacon Academy. Team RWBY's Dorm. 5:30am ~_

As usual, Blake was the first to awaken.

It started with the twitch of her ears, both sets, followed by a contented sigh which came out like a purr. Then there was the stretching of her extremities, Blake's back arching like a cat's, before golden eyes blinked open and examined the world with feline sharpness.

As the first light of dawn shone through the crack in Team RWBY's curtains, Blake sat upright in bed. Her eyes narrowed. Something was... off. Glancing around the room, trying to identify the source of this feeling, Blake was left unsatisfied when nothing looked out of place.

Maybe she was just imagining things.

Following that line of thought, Blake silently got out of bed, grabbed her towel, and made her way to the washroom for her early morning shower.

* * *

_~ Beacon Academy. Team RWBY's Dorm. 7:58am ~_

_THUMP!_

"Oh gods, Yang! Are you alright!?"

Amber coloured eyes darted upwards from the book in front of them, soon after widening in shock.

Weiss was the second of them to stir, Ruby rousing mere minutes after her. As was their routine, the girls quickly proceeded to the washroom to brush their teeth, wash their faces, and comb through their hair. All the while, their last teammate snoozed on. Blake, having already showered and eaten by the time her teammates came back to the dorm, she quickly changed into her uniform and sat down in her bed with a book. Ruby and Weiss would disappear again moments later to grab breakfast in the cafeteria, leaving Blake to read in the quiet for an hour and a half.

Then came this disturbance.

"Ugh," Yang groaned. "Was my bed always that high up?"

Blake stared at the blonde from her bed in utter shock.

Unlike regular mornings, where Yang's dismount from bed was a bit more... upright, today for some reason, Yang's balance just wasn't there. There was no whoosh of displaced air and the _ta da!_ exclamation from the bubbly brawler after landing a perfect two foot stomp off her bed. There was no giggling from Ruby as her older sister bowed over dramatically for her ridiculous display of athletics. There was no eye rolling from Weiss, no muttering from the Schnee heiress about stupid blondes and their childish siblings. No, there was only shocked gawking right now, as Yang lay face down in her pyjamas, on the cool dorm room floor between their beds. Ruby and Weiss stood next their beds in their uniforms.

"Yang?"

Ruby helped her older sister to her feet, something which took great effort on both the sisters' parts Blake noticed. The smaller of the two was practically hauling up dead weight in the form of Yang Xiao Long, the blonde grasping weakly at her sister's supporting arm as she was pulled to her feet an hour later than usual. Yang was no morning person, by any means, not like Blake, but still, even this was late for her.

Blake narrowed her eyes, something about her partner's sluggish motions raising red flags in her mind. As a result of her super human vision, Blake made out pin head sized beads of sweat sticking to Yang's bare skin, the black haired girl also noting redness in the blonde's cheeks. Violet coloured eyes were hazy and unfocused, Yang shivering noticeably as she stood up. Yang murmured a quick thanks to Ruby before rubbing her bare arms with her hands.

"Are you... alright?" Weiss asked, peering at Yang longer than normal. "You don't look so good."

Blake rose from her bed, setting her book aside in one fluid motion. Just as she did, Yang shivered again.

"Was it always this cold in here?" Yang asked, dazedly looking around the room before her gaze settled on her bed.

The brawler swayed on her feet, dangerously in Blake's opinion, the black haired girl quickly putting a hand on her partner's bare shoulder to steady her. Yang was hot to the touch.

"Yang," Blake said, drawing the girl's disoriented gaze towards her. "I think you should lie down."

Yang trembled against Blake's hand. "What? Why-"

Blake's free hand pressed against Yang's forehead, before sliding down to cup a rosy cheek. Yang was rendered speechless, her eyes immediately glazing over.

"Your burning," Blake said, frowning even more.

It took all of five seconds for Yang to register what Blake had said. But instead of the witty response Blake was expecting, something along the lines of Yang naturally being _hot stuff_, what she got was a confused utterance.

"Huh?" was all Yang said.

Ruby shot Weiss a worried glance, the white haired girl pursing her lips in concern. This was so unlike the normally obnoxious blonde, so much so that even the Schnee heiress was starting to worry.

"Yang," Blake said, putting a hand on her partner's arm. She gave it a gentle tug. "Let's get you back to bed."

* * *

_~ Beacon Academy. Team RWBY's Dorm. 8:48am ~_

"I can't believe Yang is sick," Ruby said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her slumbering sister. "She's never gotten sick before."

Yang was put in Blake's bed, none of the girls (especially Blake) comfortable with the idea of the blonde sleep in her own bed right now. Not only was it smelling of sweat (though only Blake noticed that because of her rather sensitive nose), Yang falling out of bed again in her fevered state was not something they wanted to repeat.

"There's a first time for everything," Weiss said, standing next to their leader. She was also looking at Yang.

Yang made a noise of discomfort, the blonde rolling onto her side restlessly. The brawler unconsciously pulled the blanket tighter around herself, shivering for the umpteenth time in the span of minutes.

"Ruby," Blake said. "I'm borrowing your blanket."

Blake didn't wait for Ruby's approval before she began stripping the youngest girl's bed. Not that Blake expected a negative answer. Even if Ruby disapproved, Blake would have still done it.

"Yeah, of course," Ruby said, the youngest of them mentally slapping herself for not thinking of that sooner.

"You can borrow mine too," Weiss said, causing Blake to pause. Noticing the black haired girl's look, Weiss huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not like I need it right now anyhow."

Blake stared at Weiss in surprise for a few seconds, before she nodded and yanked the blanket off of Weiss' bed as well.

"Awwwwww Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed. The scythe wielder tackled her partner into a hug. "You're so sweet! Thank you!"

"R-Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed, her cheeks flushing. "Get off me!"

Anything said or done after that was zoned out by Blake, the bow totting girl immediately covering her own partner up with the two extra blankets. While that seemed to help a bit, Yang's shivers lessening, the blonde still trembled. Blake frowned, sitting at the edge of her bed. She reached over and pulled some sweat matted locks away from Yang's face.

"Someone should stay with her," Ruby said, somewhere over Blake's shoulder.

Amber coloured eyes glanced back before focusing on Yang again.

"I don't want to leave her alone like this," Ruby continued.

"Ruby," Weiss said, looking at the wall clock near the door. It read 8:56am. "Classes will be starting soon."

"I know, but-"

"I'll stay with her."

Ruby and Weiss looked at Blake.

"But-" Ruby protested.

"She's my partner," Blake said, levelling her gaze at Ruby. "I'll take care of her."

* * *

_~ Beacon Academy. Team RWBY's Dorm. 11:28am ~_

If Blake wasn't worried before, she was now.

After Ruby and Weiss left for classes, Weiss promising to take notes on both Blake and Yang's behalf, Blake changed out of her uniform and into her regular black and white garb. Her first order of business was to change Yang's sweat soaked bed sheets. Once fresh sheets were in place, and after a quick check up on the blonde, the suspected faunus quickly darted off to the cafeteria to get Yang some broth. If Yang was going to get better, she needed to keep her strength up.

As loathed as she was to wake her ill partner, Blake did so anyhow. Thankfully, Yang still had enough strength to sit up and eat, albeit at a slower rate. A quarter of the way into the bowl of broth however, Yang was exhausted, leaving Blake to spoon feed her the rest of it from that point onwards. Just when things were looking up, three quarters of the way through the bowl of broth, Yang's hands jerked up to her mouth, the blonde soon after tripping over the blankets and her own feet as she staggered out of the dorm room for the washroom. By the time Blake caught up to her, Yang was emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Blake stood by her the entire time, holding back her hair.

That was half an hour ago.

And now they were back in their dorm.

And Yang was getting worse.

A violent coughing fit wracked Yang's body, the blonde whimpering in the aftermath as she curled up on her side. Blake frowned, the grip on her book going knuckle white. The coughs started about ten minutes ago, the first of them having startled Blake out of her silent reading. Not that Blake managed to read much in the first place. The black haired girl could barely concentrate on anything aside from her partner right now, this whole sickness bothering her more than she wanted to admit.

Yang was strong. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Well... maybe not always emotionally. But nevertheless, she was strong. During initiation, Blake saw that, time and time again. First with the rampaging Ursas. Then with the Nevermore. No normal person could have done what Yang did. And that was an integral factor in Blake's process of choosing a partner. Blake could have had any partner she wanted. In the end, she chose Yang.

Yet, to see Yang here, so fragile, so weak, it hurt. It hurt so much. Blake was helpless to do anything about it, helpless to do much aside from whispering uncertain reassurances. She hated it. Yang went head to head with a Nevermore for gods sake! And she didn't get eaten, despite the Grimm's attempt to devour her whole! How could such a stupid thing like a cold reduce Yang to such a pitiful mess?!

When a rasping, pained breath made Yang whimper again for the umpteenth time since the morning started, Blake had had enough. The black haired girl stalked across the room for her things, soon after tearing through her belongings like a woman possessed. She was searching, searching for one particular item, and anything and everything that got in the way of her search would be torn to shreds until she found it.

Ah, there it was.

With shaking hands and heavy breaths, Blake took a moment to calm herself. It would all be over soon, she reminded herself. Fingers curled around a small black pouch with black strings tying the pocket shut. Gingerly opening it, Blake pulled out two small yellow pills before closing it back. She tossed the black pouch over her shoulder, and it fell amongst her scattered belongings. Amber coloured eyes stared at the pills for a few seconds before looking towards the feverish blonde on Blake's bed.

These tiny pills were no ordinary pills. No, these pills were special, something unique only to a certain clan of assassins thought to have been killed out many years ago. They were only meant to be used in emergencies, in life or death situations.

Why only under those circumstances?

These small yellow pills were potent enough to amplify one's aura, and hence magnify one's healing rate by at least tenfold. Taken when one was perfectly healthy, these pills could, for a time, give one super human abilities. There of course would be aftereffects from misuse (that being using them when one was perfectly healthy), such as exhaustion, temporary limb numbness, among other things, but that was a moot point right now. Normally one pill would have been enough for dire circumstances, but Blake had pulled out two.

These were Blake's last two pills.

With her clan having been almost completely eradicated during the Faunus War, the assassins having given their lives to protect the fragile freedom today's faunus enjoyed to this day, that meant there would be no refills on the pills once these were done. There were only a handful of clan survivors left in the world, one of them being Blake herself, and none of them were versed in the medicinal arts. Looking back to Yang again, a mewl escaping the blonde's throat, Blake's lips pursed and she stood up. She had made her decision.

"Yang," Blake said softly, a hand on the brawler's shoulder, shaking her gently.

Yang moaned, before cloudy violet eyes opened halfway to look at her.

Blake's lips twitched at the corners, her eyes softening as she gazed at her partner. She felt her heart flutter as a small smile stretched across Yang's lips in response to hers.

For the longest while, Yang was something special to her. She was different from the rest.

Important.

Blake hadn't felt that way about another person since Adam, but that was a very long time ago. Never did she think she'd feel this way again about another person, yet here she was, with Yang. And her heart was beating so fast.

"I've got some medicine for you," Blake said, once she realized she'd been staring. "Think you can swallow it?"

Yang nodded limply, the blonde too tired to say anything right now.

Blake's smile widened. "Good."

Blake reached under Yang's head, tilting it upwards as she gave her the pills. Just as the black haired girl turned back to her desk to retrieve the glass of water on it, a coughing fit overtook Yang, the blonde coughing up the pills on the pillow next to her head.

"Yang!"

Blake cradled Yang's head against her chest, rubbing her partner's back. The fit soon passed, leaving the brawler utterly exhausted in her arms. Looking back at the spit covered pills, Blake gritted her teeth before she reached forward and nabbed the pills off of the pillow. Without thinking, Blake popped them into her mouth, but did not swallow. Quickly taking a gulp of water (also not swallowing), she held Yang's cheeks in her hands as she pressed her lips to Yang's. A clammy hand reached up and held onto her arm, Yang's lips opening, allowing Blake to feed her the pills mouth to mouth. This time, Yang swallowed them without problems, the blonde sighing tiredly as Blake pulled back to look at her. Hooded violet coloured looked at Blake for a few seconds before closing again.

It wouldn't be until after she lay Yang back down on the pillow, pulling up the blankets on the blonde, did Blake realize what she had done.

* * *

_~ Beacon Academy. Team RWBY's Dorm. 5:32pm ~_

It never occurred to Blake just how much Yang's illness bothered her.

Until now.

Thinking back on the incident hours ago, Blake's cheeks burned hot when the sensation of Yang's lips on hers quickly flashed through her mind. The black haired girl shook her head, pushing those thoughts aside. While it was true, in the literal sense, that Blake had kissed Yang, that didn't count. Not really. Blake needed to give those pills to Yang and that was the only way to do it at the time. Yang probably wouldn't even remember it tomorrow anyways. And that thought made Blake's heart sink a bit.

Continuing to think on it further, Blake silently berated herself for panicking back then. She didn't mean to, but panic she did. It was that overwhelming sense of panic which led Blake to giving Yang the last two of her life saving pills. While others in her clan would have regretted such an act, Blake did not. Not one bit. If she had to redo the entire situation all over again, she would have still given Yang those pills. Seeing Yang like this, sick, unnerved her. And the longer Yang stayed sick, the more Blake felt herself unravelling, losing control of the emotions she thought she had locked away a long time ago.

Panic. Helplessness. Fear.

Looking down at the damp cloth in her hand, the one she'd been using to wipe the cold sweat off of Yang's body, Blake finally realized what was happening.

She was afraid.

She was afraid of losing Yang.

And that thought alone made it suddenly hard to breathe.

A whimper drew the black haired girl out of her thoughts. Blake immediately set the cloth in her hand down on the basin of water on her desk nearby.

"Shh Yang," Blake murmured. Before she realized what she was doing, Blake reached over and cupped the blonde's cheek. "I'm here," she cooed.

Upon contact, Yang settled, allowing Blake a soft sigh of relief.

The medicine was working. The blonde was looking much better than she did hours ago.

Yang wasn't shivering so much anymore, and her restless tossing and turning seemed to have disappeared as well. Her cheeks were no longer a red colour, now a faint pink of anything. And the coughing, Yang barely coughed at all now. Come tomorrow morning, Yang would be back to her regular, bubbly and loud self.

Thank the gods for that! If this edginess was how she felt when Yang got sick, Blake didn't even want to think about what would happen if Yang actually got hurt in combat.

A warm hand curled around her wrist, making Blake jump. The black haired girl quickly looked down at her bed ridden partner and found Yang staring up at her. Blake fought with herself not to blush furiously as she quickly realized her hand was still on Yang's cheek.

"Hey," Yang said, her voice scratchy and soft.

"Hi," Blake said meekly, not quite sure what she should be doing right now. She wanted to move her hand, in spite of how right it felt against her partner's skin, but it didn't seem like Yang was going to allow her to do that.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, gazing at each other. It would be Yang who broke the silence first.

"I-"

A coughing fit quickly took hold of the blonde, Yang immediately relinquishing her grip on Blake in favour of bringing up her hand to stifle the cough. Her body shuddered sharply, Blake immediately wrapping her arms around the brawler's shoulders, rubbing her back. She cradled the blonde in her arms. When the coughing subsided, Blake turned and reached for the refilled glass of water on her desk, bringing it to Yang's lips.

"Thanks," Yang said tiredly, after drinking it all.

A small smile crept up on Blake's lips, the black haired girl taking a moment to set the empty glass down on her desk again.

"How are you feeling?"

Yang looked around for a moment, deep in thought. "Hungry actually," she said. As if to support her claim, Yang's stomach chose to gurgle noisily right then, making the blonde blush.

Blake found that sight to be the cutest thing she had ever seen. She almost giggled at that, but managed to stifle it at the last minute. The smile on her face widened in place of the laugh.

"Think you can keep down a bowl of broth this time?" Blake asked.

"This... time?" Yang looked at her in confusion.

Blake sighed tiredly. "I tried to feed you some earlier." A pause. "All of it ended up in the toilet."

Yang grimaced. "It was that bad, huh?"

Blake nodded.

"How long was I out for?"

Blake turned to look at the clock for a moment. "Since this morning," she replied.

Yang's eyes widened. "And you've been here with me the entire time?"

Blake nodded again. The suspected faunus couldn't but feel warm under the gaze Yang was giving her. It was so... welcoming, so caring. Seconds later, Blake straightened up significantly when she felt Yang's thumb caress the skin of her wrist. She hadn't even realized when Yang touched her hand again. Goosebumps immediately went up her arm, amber coloured eyes going down to the offending hand. That sensation wasn't all that unpleasant. It was rather nice, actually.

"Ah, sorry..." Yang said sheepishly. She pulled her hand back immediately. "I didn't mean to-"

"No," Blake said quickly, putting her free hand on top of Yang's to halt her retreat. Blake's cheeks redened slightly.

"It's alright. I... I actually liked it..." Blake said softly, her voice trailing off. She looked to the side shyly.

It was now Yang's turn to blink. "You..." Yang blinked again, her fog addled mind trying to process that information. "You did?"

Blake looked at Yang, a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks as she nodded. Blake quickly looked away again seconds later. A smile stretched across Yang's face. Daring to be bold, the blonde reached up with her free hand to cup Blake's cheek. The black haired girl looked at her in surprise, before closing her eyes, melting under her touch. Blake sagged forward into Yang's hand as the blonde's thumb rubbed against her cheek. Blake's hands tightened around Yang's held hand.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Blakey," Yang murmured. She was happy.

Golden eyes opened halfway, to meet a brilliant violet gaze. "Your welcome, Yang."

* * *

_**A/N:**__ In this story, Blake is half faunus. Though, at this point, that has yet to be confirmed to her teammates._

_Technically, Yang has the flu. While I realize it takes much longer to get over a flu of this magnitude, for the purposes of this story, let's just say Yang got hit with one of those 24-hour bugs._

_For this story, Blake comes from a long line of assassins. That being said, it shouldn't be surprising for our ninja-like heroine to have access to some pretty potent medicine. ;)_

_If you haven't done so already, I highly recommend checking out Skire's artwork on Deviantart. There's some fantastic RWBY artwork there. Skire's Deviantart page is here: __**coldfox72[insertperiod]deviantart[insertperiod]com /**_


	2. The Strange

**In a Land Far, Far Away**

_**A/N:**__ Thank you to everyone who made the first chapter of this series a success. While I originally said I would only update this on a monthly basis, I couldn't resist sneaking in a Halloween chapter. :) _

_On another note, replies to comments and reviews will resume on the weekend like normal, but I wanted to clear something up about the first chapter which came up multiple times. _

_There was the question of Beacon's medical staff. To answer that question, yes, Beacon Academy has a very reliable and awesome staff for emergencies and stuff of the medical nature. That being said, I didn't really want to involve them as one-shot #1 was supposed to be all about Yang and Blake. Keeping that in mind, I probably should have mentioned something about them, something about them telling the girls to keep Yang hydrated and resting, etc, but I didn't. That was an oversight on my part and I shall make sure to improve on such things for future chapters. Thanks to all who pointed that out, I appreciate the constructive criticism. :)_

_And on a final note, I don't feel that I have a good grasp on Blake's character yet. As a result, she may come across a bit OOC._

_Now that all of that is out of the way, onto the next chapter!_

_For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

**Summary:** The night of All Hallows befalls only one day a year. Today is that day. There will be trick-or-treating, cosplaying, and team bonding. Team RWBY. Implied RxW and YxB. Faunus!Blake.

* * *

_*** ~_ The Strange _~ ***_

Of all the holidays and traditions Vale had, by far, Halloween had to be the strangest. For a one Blake Belladonna, that is.

Also known as All Hallows Eve, on this particular night, the common expectation was that children of all ages would parade around from house to house, demanding candies of many kinds, using a weird sort of enchantment.

"Trick-or-Treat!" Ruby exclaimed, the youngster of the group beaming brightly in spite of the blank look Professor Glynda Goodwitch was giving her.

Aside from the bordering on illegal candy acquisition, this unusual tradition also demanded that people carve orange coloured squashes. Once butchered, those same squashes were to be left by the front door of peoples' homes, brightly lit. These squashes, called pumpkins, were the key identifiers to children seeking sugary goodness as to which houses were prime targets to stalk and which ones weren't. And that was the reason they were here now, Team RWBY, indulging in this usual ritual.

Blake watched with almost clinical curiosity as the blonde professor reached back inside her office for an excessively large bowl filled to the brim with candy. To the part faunus' embarrassment, this was the first time that Blake had ever participated in the tradition known as Halloween. During her time with the White Fang, they didn't have the luxury for such things. Back then, the only thing that mattered was staying alive. Now that that part of her life was over, Blake happily indulged in the more... unique things life had to offer, the black haired girl unable to think of a better group aside from her team to experience those things with for the first time.

Glancing to her partner and teammate, Blake's eyebrows raised in surprise at the sight of an almost drooling Yang. The busty blonde was a mirror image of Team RWBY's leader, both girls looking up at Professor Goodwitch with such awe, as if this was the first time either of them had ever seen candy before. After the veteran Huntress deposited handfuls of candies into each of their four tot bags, she took her leave with a brief nod, closing her office door shortly afterwards. No sooner had the professor's door closed, loot was assessed and examined.

"Ohhhhhh! Sis! Sis!" Ruby squealed, pulling something out of her tot bag. "This is-"

"-thesuperdeluxefantasticsugarhightriplechocolated oublefudgebarsupreme!" Yang finished for her younger sibling, the blonde as equally excited.

How Yang managed all of that in half a breath, with some left over, was unknown to the part faunus. Then again, this was Yang after all. How she did a lot of things would forever remain a mystery to Blake.

Blake blinked, trying to comprehend that jumble of words. "The... what?"

Weiss sighed audibly, hanging her head. The heiress stood on the far left of the group. Blake stood on the far right. Ruby and Yang stood in between them both. Stealing a glance at her hyper partner on her right, Weiss turned to face Blake.

"What they mean to say is that it's a really good chocolate bar," Weiss explained.

"Oh," was all Blake said in response.

The black haired girl looked down at her own tot bag in search of the fabled item. She hadn't known such things existed, for nothing like that was ever written about in the books she had read about Halloween. Maybe it was a new thing? Not that Blake had a fetish for chocolate or anything. Oh no. She just... appreciated... how Yang enjoyed her sweets was all. The blonde was truly fascinating to watch during those times.

"_The super deluxe fantastic sugar high triple chocolate double fudge bar supreme..._" Blake murmured to herself as she searched for the novel item. She didn't find any in her bag. Apparently, none of the chocolate bars in her stash had that name printed on their packaging. Was that perhaps a codename of sorts for this elusive candy bar?

Team RWBY currently stood in the long hallway known to all Beacon students as Death's Alley. Here, the offices to all the professors in Beacon Academy resided, the corridor a mix of doors and windows which overlooked the western side of campus. Rather than freshly cut and lit Jack-o-Lanterns standing guard in front of the professors' offices, there were cardboard cut outs stuck to their doors instead.

How they ended up here, Blake would never remember. She vaguely remembered Ruby telling her it had to do with team bonding, socialization, and for whatever ridiculous reason, candy acquisition. Oh, and Halloween of course.

Blake was not so much of a sweets person. The only reason she agreed to collect it, along with the rest of the team in the first place, was to bribe (or blackmail, depending on who you asked) Yang with it later. The blonde had such a sweet tooth, one only rivalled by Ruby's.

"Alright!" Ruby exclaimed, now recovering from her momentarily candy induced stupor. "Next office is Professor Port's!"

Blake looked over to their enthusiastic leader, giving the girl's outerwear a once over. Like usual, whenever they were not attending classes, Ruby wore her signature red cloak and red and black dress and boots. Unlike usual however, Ruby also chose to don fake plastic teeth with extended and sharpened canines, paint her face white and dabble fake blood dripping down her chin from her lips. She was dressed up as a vampire, or so the younger girl had told her when Blake inquired about it before the whole outing started.

Clearly, this was the pop culture version of vampires. Vampires in books were not so... subdued and lacking viciousness. The vampires in books were as horrifying, if not even more horrifying than some of the more terrifying Grimm they learned about in class. Thankfully, they didn't exist in real life. The Grimm were bad enough.

"Please tell me that's the last one," Weiss groaned. The Schnee heiress rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Nope!" Ruby said rather cutely, much to her partner's further annoyance. "There are still dozens more to go after this one! And don't forget, we'll be hitting up Professor Ozpin's office last! A little birdie told me that he has the best candies of them all."

Blake would later learn that little birdie was none other than Nora Valkyrie. That was not really surprising considering how much alike the pinkette was to Ruby.

Ruby gave Weiss her brilliant, yet childishly innocent smile, making the sword wielder sigh again. The white haired girl looked ready to say something in opposition, but immediately folded upon Ruby's smile. Poor, poor Weiss. Blake could somewhat sympathize with her.

"Oh c'mon Weiss!" Yang said, giving the white haired girl a grin.

Blake was quickly pulled against the blonde, her partner wrapping an arm around Blake's shoulders when she wasn't paying attention. Blake blushed shyly at the contact.

"Even Blakey here is having fun," Yang continued, oblivious to the obvious discomfort (not really) she was causing her partner. "Aren't you, Blakey?"

Blake shyly nodded upon realizing she was being asked a question, the part faunus not trusting her voice right now. She was still getting used to all of this touching and contact with her partner, Yang being very affectionate between the two of them.

"See?" Yang said, giving the Schnee heiress a look. "Stop being a party pooper. Gao!"

Weiss rolled her eyes and huffed at that comment, soon after allowing herself to be pulled by the arm by Ruby, and dragged towards the next door. Having recovered enough from the unexpected contact with her partner, Blake turned to look at the blonde holding her.

Like Ruby, Yang sought to indulge herself in the art of cosplaying as well. Similar to her sister, the blonde wore her signature brown leather jacket along with her skirt and leather boots. Added to her regular ensemble was a headband with two round, furry brown ears on it, which sat comfortably on her head. A furry brown tail also hung down from the back of Yang's skirt waistband at the back. In place of her regular black gloves were furry brown mittens with claws on the fingertips. And on her face was black face paint, highlighting whiskers on her cheeks and a round black nose between them.

Thankfully, neither Yang nor Ruby forced Blake to dress up with them, aside from what she normally wore. That would have been a bit... awkward. Ruby tried to convince Weiss to cosplay, but one could guess how that went considering Weiss was garbed in her typical white dress and white platformed boots and nothing more.

"Ohhhhhh Blakey!" Yang said, snapping Blake out of her thoughts. "What's that ya got there?"

Blake watched in silence as Yang reached into her tot bag to pull out a brightly wrapped chocolate bar. As luck would have it, the colour of their tot bags (courtesy of Ruby) coincided with their own personal colour preferences. Ruby had a red velvet bag. Weiss had a silk white bag. Yang had a shimmering gold bag, and Blake's bag was furry black. Oversized pillowcases was what Blake called them. Yang laughed heartily when Blake described them as such hours ago.

A squeal drew Blake's gaze from her oversized pillowcase to her partner's face. The black haired girl would have staggered backwards from the sheer cuteness of Yang's expression had it not been for the blonde's arm still wrapped around her shoulders. If someone had told her that only Ruby could pull off the puppy dog look, they obviously hadn't met Yang.

"C-Can I haz?" Yang asked her with such reverance, the blonde's violet eyes big and round and almost tearful. "Pwease Blakey?"

Blake's eyes darted back and forth between Yang's adorable face and the chocolate bar in the brawler's hand. "Uh... sure?" she said after a few seconds.

"Oh thank you Blakey!" Yang exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down for joy, taking Blake with her.

Blake's expression softened. Yang was so cute!

In her excitement, Yang squeezed Blake tighter against her, the blonde soon afterwards leaning over to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I love you!"

Blake's cheeks erupted in red, the part faunus feeling half dazed by the open affection her partner was giving her. While not really a touchy feely type, Blake quickly learned just how much she enjoyed her partner's touch. They had yet to get anywhere past simple hugs and a kiss here and there, due to Blake's own nervousness about being in a relationship, but Yang was patient and promised to take things as slow as Blake liked.

"Oye!" came a shout from down the hallway. It was Ruby, the redhead waving at them excitedly a door down from where they stood. "Hurry up Yang! We don't have much time left before the masquerade! And there's still plenty of doors left!"

The masquerade. Right. They still had to prepare for that.

"Coming! Coming!" Yang shouted back to her sister, also waving. The blonde chuckled at her sister's excitement antics before looking back to Blake. "Shall we, Blakey?"

Blake smiled, reflecting Yang's happiness. Those ears really did look good on Yang. Too bad they weren't real.

"Yes," Blake said. "Let's."

* * *

Professor Ozpin spared no expense for the masquerade ball which followed later on in the night. It was held in a large ballroom, complete with spiralling staircases leading up to the upper balcony, along with water fountains and many tables of food and drink. Servers dressed up as butlers in white and black outfits were hired for this event, many of them walking around the floor offering students a wide variety of hors d'oeuvres and non alcoholic drinks. Someone managed to sneak some alcohol in though, Blake scrunching her nose slightly when she came across that potent scent as she passed by the drinks table earlier. How that person got it past all the professors mingling about, Blake didn't know. What she did know was this. Without a doubt, someone had spiked the punch.

"I'm flattered, really," Weiss said, snapping Blake out of her thoughts. "But I must decline."

This must have been the tenth person Weiss had turned away since coming to the masquerade ball. Both Blake and Weiss were the first of Team RWBY to arrive, their partners off finalizing their own costumes for the night. Unlike before, it was a requirement for Blake to dress up this time, and though reluctant about it originally, Blake agreed to do so. Well, she didn't really agree to it. It was more that she didn't have a choice in the matter.

_~ An hour ago ~_

"Blake, what are you doing?"

After a successful trick-or-treating outing earlier, Team RWBY was now back in their dorm preparing for the masquerade ball. While her teammates set about to freshen themselves up, changing into their designated attire, Blake crawled up onto her bed with a book in hand, ready to catch up on some reading.

"I'm reading my book?" Blake said, uncertain as to what Yang was really getting at.

"Aren't you getting ready for the masquerade?" Yang questioned, raising her eyebrow. The blonde stood next to Blake's bed.

"I'm ready right now," Blake stated, opening her book to the page she left off on. Before she could read the first line of the page, her book was promptly snatched out of her hands.

"You are not going like _that_," Yang said, her hands on her hips. In one hand was Blake's book.

"Why not?" Blake asked, her brow furled in annoyance.

Blake rather liked her signature outfit. It was the most optimal thing to wear, especially if a sudden mission came up and she needed to fight. It was light and easy to move in, and she saw no reason to change it. What else would she wear? It was not like Blake had many outfits aside from her uniform and normal everyday wear. Blake had no idea what this masquerade ball was, but from the way Yang had attempted to explain it to her earlier, it sounded like a reconnaissance mission complete with infiltration disguises and all.

"C'mon Blake!" Yang said in exasperation, throwing her hands up into the air. "This is the one night you get to dress up as anything or anyone want! Surely there's something you've always wanted to dress up as?"

Blake blinked blankly. "No...?"

Yang stared at Blake in surprise. "Really?"

Blake nodded. "Really."

"There's nothing else you've ever wanted to be, even just for a minute?"

"No," Blake repeated. This line of questioning was redundant, was it not?

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" came a startled cry from the other end of the room. Ruby popped into Blake's line of vision seconds later. "No way!" the younger girl said.

Blake could only raise an eyebrow at the two siblings. Really, what was the big deal? Blake was perfectly happy with herself. Why would there be any need to be anyone else?

Before either Yang or Ruby could say anything further, Weiss took this opportunity to step in.

"Leave her alone you two," the Schnee heiress said, yanking both Ruby and Yang away from Blake by the backs of their collars.

"Wha- hey!" Yang protested.

"_Weiss!_" Ruby whined.

"Don't you two have costumes to get into?" the white haired girl said, arms crossed over her chest in aggravation.

"But-"

"You forget?" Weiss said. "This is Blake's first Halloween. So it's only natural she doesn't know about this stuff."

Blake nodded, thankful for the heiress' intervention. She and Weiss may not have gotten along right at the beginning, but their relationship since then had improved.

Or so she thought.

Then Weiss continued to talk, making Blake reconsider that idea.

"Besides," Weiss continued. "Neither of you have time to help her get into costume. I, on the other hand, do."

Blake's other eyebrow rose in response to that comment.

Weiss glanced back over her shoulder at the part faunus, making Blake feel weary. "And I have just the thing for her."

~ _Present _~

Weiss had quite the thing indeed.

Blake wore a strapless, shoulder-less purple gown which flared out from the waist downwards. Layer upon layer of ruffles made up the lower half of the dress, a purple satin trailing up the right side of the lower half with lavender ruffles cascading down the left side. A mixed purple and lavender satin flower was stitched to her left hip just above the ruffles. Blake's arms wore matching purple satin gloves which stopped just past her elbows. To top off her outfit, around Blake's neck was a silver and amethyst necklace, borrowed from Weiss' own personal collection, her signature black bow adorning her head. No matter what Weiss tried, the bow remained a permanent fixture the part faunus absolutely refused to remove.

Blake watched, a small smile on her face as the boy dressed up as an Ursa walked away from the Schnee heiress dejectedly. She really felt bad for the boy, a cute little wolf faunus at that, but nothing could really be done about it. Weiss was saving her first dance for someone special, someone who's favorite colour was red.

"Another one bites the dust..." Blake commented, to which Weiss gave her a look.

"Oh, don't you start that now too," Weiss huffed. She gave her part faunus teammate an annoyed look. "It's bad enough Yang spouts out those ridiculous puns all the time."

Blake just chuckled.

Weiss was robed in a sleeveless open back white silk dress. The dress itself flared out from the hips, giving it a bell shape. Silver sequins were sewn into the bodice in swirling patterns, sparkling in the soft light which lit up the ballroom. White beads, most likely small pearls, covered the hem and lower part of the dress, sewn in intricate patterns befit of the Schnee heiress. Weiss' hands and arms were covered in matching silk gloves which stopped just past her elbows. Unlike usual, Weiss' hair tonight was done up in a bun, off to the side, topped off with a silver tiara which sat on her head. Like Ozpin, Weiss spared no expense for her outfit tonight. And it really showed. It was no wonder she was being accosted so much this evening.

"Thank you," Blake said, confusing Weiss for a moment. "For the dress I mean," she quickly explained. Blake fought hard not to flush. Like Weiss, Blake too had her fair share of potential suitors, but had turned every single one of them down.

Weiss offered Blake a genuine smile, something which was very rare and only happened with her teammates and very close friends. "It looks good on you," the Schnee heiress said

Blake started to fidget. "It must have cost so much-"

"Cost is not an issue," Weiss said, cutting her off. Blue eyes scanned the crowd as Weiss continued to speak. "It's not often I can wear dresses like this here at Beacon. Not on a regular basis at least. Sometimes it's nice to indulge yourself every once in a while."

Blake smiled. She could appreciate that.

"Besides, all it was doing was taking up space in my closet," Weiss continued. "It would have been a shame not to have someone wear it, even if it wasn't me."

"But still," Blake said, still not used to this treatment. Weiss had even taken the time to show her how to walk in the matching heels she borrowed too after all.

"Thank you."

"You're part of my family now, Blake," Weiss said, her gaze softening. "There's no need to thank me."

Weiss had no idea how much that meant to Blake, hearing those few words. Speechless by that admission, that acceptance, that kindness, all Blake could do was smile and nod.

A white rose came between them, a new voice joining them. "A pretty flower for a pretty lady?"

Both girls immediately turned to the newcomer. As this sort of thing had already happened, many times in fact as they waited for their wayward partners, a dismissal was already rolling off of Weiss lips as she turned to face their intruder.

"Look," Weiss started. "I-"

Weiss froze.

A brilliant, beaming smile made the Schnee heiress completely forget what she about to say. There standing in front of her, in front of them both, was Ruby Rose. And not just any Ruby Rose. It was _Prince Charming_ Ruby Rose.

Tight black pants hugged Ruby's legs, knee high tall black leather boots covering her feet. Ruby wore a white, neatly ironed shirt, covered up with a magnificent red coat with silver adornments running along the collar, down the breast of the chest and along the cuffs of the jacket. A black leather belt with a silver buckle was tied over the red coat, a gleaming blade sheathed and hanging off of it on Ruby's right hip. Whether or not the sword was real, it was hard to tell at this point, but really, that mattered little.

White gloves covered the younger girl's hand, a white rose also held loosely in her fingers. To finish off the outfit, Ruby's signature crimson coloured cloak hung off of her shoulders and down her back, completing her regal look. Dark hair with crimson highlights was slicked back, silver orbs sparkling brightly in the dim light.

_Princess_ Weiss Schnee stood speechless in the presence of her partner, a light blush colouring her cheeks. The sword wielder's heart was beating so fast right now, Blake easily picking up the sound with her super human hearing. The part faunus could almost see the butterflies fluttering around in Weiss' stomach right now.

Ruby tucked the white rose in Weiss' hair above her left ear, the scythe wielder leaning in to give her partner a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Would you honour me with a dance, Milady?" Ruby asked quite chivalrously. She offered Weiss her hand to take.

Weiss swallowed noticeably before looking shyly to the side for a moment. "I'd... I'd like that."

Ruby smiled at a very stunned Blake, giving the part faunus a wink before leading her partner over to the dance floor. Blake couldn't but chuckle after she got her wits about her, she just as surprised as Weiss by Ruby's sudden appearance. No wonder Ruby took so long to get here. It wasn't easy getting into a costume like that. Too many layers. But if Ruby's expression, along with Weiss', were any indication, it was well worth it.

Now only one question remained. Where was her partner?

"If beauty were time, you'd be eternity. "

Speak of the devil.

Blake turned towards the familiar voice, a small smile on her lips before she too froze upon sight of the person. For a moment her heart stopped, and she couldn't breathe.

"You look stunning, Blakey," Yang said.

Yang wore a collared white shirt, a golden vest over top of it, both layers covered up by a black blazer. Black gloves cover her hands, black neatly pressed pants and polished black shoes adorning her legs and feet. To top it all off, a white half mask covered the right side of Yang's face, from the forehead stopping just short of her mouth. Blonde locks of golden hair was neatly combed and straightened behind the blonde, something Blake never ever thought was possible.

This had to be the first time that Blake had ever seen Yang covered up this much before. And wow, did her partner look... amazing...

A grin.

"Got ya speechless, have I?"

Blake flustered quickly at that comment, the part faunus looking away shyly for a moment.

"Y-You fiend!" was all Black could muster in response. Her cheeks flamed hot.

A black gloved hand reached out and held up Blake's hand in its own. Amber coloured eyes met violet ones as Yang kissed the back of Blake's hand, making the black haired girl blush even more.

"Care to dance?"

amber eyes looked up as Blake smiled coyly. Yang's heart leapt into her throat at that look.

"I thought you'd never ask."

The two made their way onto the dance floor, passing by a flustered Jaune Arc and blushing Pyrrha Nikos. Jaune was dressed up as a knight from medieval times, complete with chain-mail and bulky armor, while Pyrrha was dressed up in her uniform minus the blazer. She was going for the school girl look apparently. Somewhere in the background Nora and Ren were raiding the hors d'oeuvres table, both of them dressed up as sloths. One could only guess where those outfits came from, and despite how embarrassing it must have been to wear it, Ren wore his proudly along side his partner.

Just as the black and yellow couple found an empty spot on the dance floor, a slow song started playing over the loud speakers. Blake immediate set her left hand down on Yang's shoulder, her right held in Yang's left off to the side. Yang's free hand rested on Blake's hip.

"I know I said it before," Yang said softly, as they moved with each other to the song's slow beat. "But you really do look stunning, Blake."

Blake smiled, unable to resist the allure of her partner and rested her cheek against Yang's collar. She felt Yang tense up against her, this move having without a doubt, startled the blonde. "B-Blake?"

It wasn't often that Blake initiated such close moments after all.

"You look good too," the part faunus said. Taking in a lungful of air, her smile widened as she closed her eyes and nuzzled against her partner further. "And you smell delicious too."

That comment had Yang blushing something fierce, Blake chuckling as she heard and felt Yang's heart beat faster. Unknown to the bow totting girl, Yang had seriously considered using the new catnip cologne she ordered online for an occasion like this. In the end though, thinking about the potentially disastrous consequences of that idea, Yang resorted to wearing her typical perfume, something she knew Blake liked a lot, her partner having already told her so before.

Untangling herself from their original position, Blake's arms move around Yang's sides before they stopped and held onto her back. The part faunus felt Yang's arms wrap around her bare shoulders and she sighed happily. Blake really loved moments like this. Something about masked, suited men, or in this case, women, really suckered Blake in.

Blake felt safe in this embrace. She felt warm, wanted. Blake didn't want to leave this place, ever again, but at some point she knew that she must. All good things came to an end after all. For now though, there was still plenty of time to enjoy this moment, and that's what the part faunus planned to do.

"Happy Halloween, Blakey," Yang said, giving her a gentle peck on the top of the head.

Blake's bow twitched, a soft purr escaping Blake's throat, causing the blonde to chuckle. The part faunus nuzzled against her partner's neck again, sighing happily. "Happy Halloween, Yang."

* * *

Of all the holidays and traditions Vale had, by far, Halloween had to be the strangest. For a one Blake Belladona, that is.

From encouraged candy begging, to enforced cosplaying and dancing, such a tradition really made no sense to the part faunus. But then there was laughter, and precious moments with friends. There were smiles and the smaller, quieter moments one couldn't but enjoy. So while Vale had some really weird things to celebrate, Blake questioning the validity of them at times, she couldn't deny that sometimes, just sometimes, the strange was not so strange after all.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ So in this piece, Blake has never celebrated Halloween until now. I figured that during her time as part of White Fang, they simple didn't have time to indulge in such simple pleasures. But that's alright, because the rest of Team RWBY is there to help her have fun. :)_

_It has yet to be confirmed if Blake and Adam actually did work for the White Fang (as stipulated from the Black Trailer), but for the purposes of this one shot, let's say they did._

_For those of you who didn't realize it at first, Yang was dressed up as a lion while trick-or-treating. Yang's lion costume was inspired by this picture drawn by VnixxiR: __**tinyurl[insertperiod]com/mptdao9**_

_I envisioned Weiss outfit to look something like this: _**tinyurl[insertperiod]com/ml9mo5t**

_I envisioned Blake's outfit to look like this: _**tinyurl[insertperiod]com/lb7qdg6**

_I envisioned Ruby's outfit to look like this (Prince Charming's clothes on the right side): _**tinyurl[insertperiod]com/l4yrlo2**

_I envisioned Yang's outfit (Phantom of the Opera) to look something like this: _**tinyurl[insertperiod]com/n7wzmp5**

_I have no idea who came up with Blake's phrase of 'You Fiend!'. Whoever it was, kudos for you for making that up. I just couldn't resist using it here. Lol._


	3. Resonance of the Heart

**In a Land Far, Far Away**

_**A/N:**__ And another chapter goes live! Whoo!_

_For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:_

_ j.c.a.s – Thanks for the comment! This series will be continuing on for a while yet, so don't you worry! Here's the next one for you. :)_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

**Summary:** It started with music. Then, came the chase. And now, resolution. Maybe she was not as alone as she thought she was. Weiss & ?

* * *

_*** ~_ Resonance of the Heart _~ ***_

_~ Mirror... ~_

White glyphs silently materialized on the floor, sending platformed, booted feet flying down the hallway at super human speeds.

_~ Tell me something... ~_

The corner of the hallway was fast approaching, but that was easily rectified with the motion of a pale hand. A light blue glyph formed in the air, vertical and off the ground, angled at forty-five degrees covering up the sharp corner. The glyph immediately turned black, only turning light blue again seconds later when a blur of white jumped onto it. The blur was propelled down the adjoining hallway, one ninety degrees to the previous hallway, continuing on their soundless journey, only lit up by the white glyphs under their feet.

_~ Tell me who's the loneliest of all... ~_

It was night time at Beacon Academy. Classes were done for the day, all of the school's students dispersing throughout campus. With the weekend upon them, many students left the school grounds in search of more exciting night time activities, only a sparse few actually remaining on site.

Weiss Schnee was one of those students.

_~ Mirror, t__ell me something... ~_

Weiss had no reason to leave campus on this Friday night. There was nothing home worth going back to. Her mother was dead. And her father, well, he was probably sleeping over at the Schnee Dust Company's main building. Since her mother died, that's all he ever did.

Work. Work. Work.

There was no more time for the simple pleasures in life.

There was no more time for Weiss.

_~ Tell me who's the loneliest of all... ~_

So Weiss carried on in life without him. She studied hard, learning everything she could about the world around her. From politics to etiquette, from combat to art, Weiss wanted to know it all. And because of that, she was accepted into Beacon Academy.

_~ Mirror, what's inside me? ~_

While her first day at the prestigious school lacked many things, Weiss Schnee made the most of what she had. Initiation went off without a hitch, mostly, and soon teams were decided and rooms assigned. The weak were rooted out, and the rest got to work, learning to become the best hunters and huntresses they could be.

_~ Tell me can a HEART be turned to STONE? ~_

Another corner was fast approaching.

Weiss quickly repeated her earlier actions, creating another aerial glyph which spring boarded her down yet another hallway without losing momentum. The white haired girl's heart beat rapidly in her chest, keen ears honed in on a specific sound. This was a sound she had been tracking for all of ten minutes now.

_~ Mirror, Mirror, what's behind you? ~_

Now, a month into the semester, Weiss had grown accustomed to her teammates, and the overall craziness that was Beacon Academy. For the most part. While accustomed she may be to them, she was not yet _comfortable_.

Something was missing.

For a long time now, an ache ate away at her chest. It started the day her mother died, and over the years, had only grown larger.

_~ Save me from the things I see... ~_

Weiss buried herself in her studies, as a means to deal with this black void inside of her. Yet, no matter how well she did in class, no matter how proper and pristine she was, the pain from within was always there, a bitter reminder that not all was right in her life.

_~ I can keep it from the world... ~_

In a last ditch effort to save herself, Weiss took up singing. She was a natural at it apparently, the Schnee heiress quickly mastering the lessons, jumping levels at a time in the art of song. While she no longer had need of a singing tutor, Weiss never failed to practice the art, even here at Beacon. And that's why she was here, in the massive music wing of Beacon Academy, on this lonely Friday night.

That is, until _it_ started.

_~ Why won't you let me hide from me? ~_

It started two weeks ago, on a night very much like this one. Weiss had come to the empty music wing of Beacon Academy, alone, making herself at home in one of the many rooms housed on this side of campus. The room was massive, large floor to ceiling windows dividing up blemish free pearl white walls. There was even a large circular skylight overhead, one showing a nearly full moon at the time. Taking up the spot just under the skylight, with the gentle moonlight shining down upon her, Weiss closed her eyes and started to sing.

Halfway through her song, the music started.

_~ Mirror... ~ _

It was a tune she had never heard before, one both soothing and sorrowful at the same time. At first, Weiss thought she was imagining things, that her mind was playing tricks on her. The heiress was the only one in this wing after all. She'd never seen anyone else come by this way, in all the times she'd been here before. Even the professors. This was a ghost wing.

But the music didn't stop. It just kept going and going, a wistful melody, one with no end.

It haunted her.

_~ Tell me something... ~_

It wasn't coming through the vents, Weiss knew that to be a fact. The vents had a way of distorting sound, garbling it at times, and none of that was present in the tune right now. It wasn't a recording either. Just like the vents, recordings never quite captured the clarity of the moment when music was played live. Having the keen ear that she did, Weiss knew this was happening now. In real time.

Enraptured by the melody, Weiss' balled fist came up to her chest, the white haired girl closing her eyes. The music was shaking her to the core, resonating with her entire being, making her tremble. It was as if the pain she felt inside, the one eating away at her heart for so many years, was coming to life in the very form of this lonely song. From the crescendos to the glissandos, it was all there, her heart poured out in front of her.

Someone else understood it.

Someone else understood the terror of the void.

Blue eyes snapped open, Weiss tearing out of the practice room like a bat out of hell.

She had to find them.

_~ Who's the loneliest of ALL? ~ _

There! She could see it! She was nearly there!

At the end of the hallway, many hallways later, a single room spilled light into the corridor, through a half inch crack between the door and the wall. Weiss skidded to a halt near the door, frantically trying to calm the loud, panting breaths escaping her throat.

She couldn't let them get away again!

Not again.

Previous times before now, when Weiss sought out the source of the haunting melody, she'd always get there too late. Whether by seconds or minutes, Weiss never knew. All she knew was that the person always heard her coming, and took off before she could confront them. Every single time that happened, Weiss felt her heart break even more. But this time would be different.

This time she remembered to bring Myrtenaster.

Taking one final calming breath, Weiss replaced her rapier on her belt, before creeping up towards the slightly ajar door. With trembling hands, the white haired girl pushed opened the door and faced the music.

_~ I'm the loneliest of ALL... ~_

"R-Ruby?" Weiss said in a gasping whisper.

The melody immediately stopped in a cacophony of wrong notes, small hands fumbling with the black and white keys of the piano. The pianist, startled by the Schnee heiress, quickly turned to face her intruder.

Similar to the room Weiss practiced in, this room was also substantially large. It was arranged auditorium style, with multiple rows of seats sloping downwards towards a wooden stage at the opposite end of the room. In the middle of the stage was a baby grand piano, the instrument positioned sideways, allowing the audience to see the pianist's right side. Behind the stage was a massive floor to ceiling window overlooking the city of Vale. It spanned the entirety of back wall of the room, the moonlight bathing both the player and the instrument in a soft glow on this particular night. Wide silver eyes stared at Weiss as the white haired girl shakily descended towards the stage.

Weiss was having a hard time believing what she was obviously seeing. Her eyes told her one thing, but her brain just couldn't seem to process it.

"It was you... all along...?"

Ruby Rose sat stock still on the black bench in front of the piano, her hands still resting on the instrument's white and black keys. The leader of Team RWBY watched in silence as her teammate walked onto the stage, coming to a stop next to her.

Weiss was shaking.

So was Ruby.

"H-Hey Weiss..." Ruby said softly.

Ruby's expression mirrored that of Weiss'. Uncertainty. Surprise. Disbelief. It was very clear she didn't expect to see Weiss here, nor did Ruby expect to see the same lonely and heartbreaking expression she wore to be on Weiss' face either.

Ruby swallowed thickly. "W-What are you doing here?"

Looking into the younger girl's eyes, Weiss confirmed what her heart already knew. This was the person. Ruby Rose was the one who understood her pain. Her sorrow. How the scythe wielder hid it, all the pain and sadness clearly showing through her eyes now, Weiss didn't know. But Weiss did know that feeling of vulnerability, that fear, that loneliness. Tears rolled down Weiss' cheeks, making silver coloured eyes widen in surprise.

"Weiss, I-"

"You dunce!" Weiss said, her voice muffling when she lurched at her leader and captured her in a tight hug. The heiress quickly buried her face in Ruby's shoulder, earning her a squeak.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Ruby remained silent as the white haired girl sobbed into her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she brought up her arms and wrapped the Schnee heiress in a hug.

"I thought I was the only one," Ruby said, her voice sounding so small.

Weiss gripped her teammate and leader tighter, still sobbing. "You're not," came a shuddering whisper.

Ruby smiled, cuddling against her companion. "Yeah," she said, stroking Weiss' hair.

"Not anymore."

* * *

_**A/N: **__For those of you not familiar with musical terms, I have defined them below._

_Crescendo: A gradual increase in loudness in a piece of music. _

_Glissando: A sliding effect achieved by sounding a series of adjacent tones in rapid succession, as by running a finger over the white keys of a piano._

_The practice room Weiss was in was designed after the White Castle from her trailer._


	4. Home

**In a Land Far, Far Away**

_**A/N:**__ And the next chapter is here in time for the holidays! Enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

**Summary:** There was no such place as home for Weiss. Not since her mother died. Then Ruby dragged Weiss to Uncle Qrow's house for the holidays. Team RWBY. Friendship. Slight AU.

* * *

*** ~ Home ~ ***

"So Weiss, what are you doing for the holidays?"

It was winter time at Beacon Academy. Snow covered the ground outside, both beautiful to look at and ice cold to the touch. It was mid week, with only days left before classes ended for the year, allowing students a slight reprieve. While most students would venture home for the winter holidays, there were a few students who remained on campus, with no where else to go.

Weiss Schnee was one of those students.

"I'm staying on campus," Weiss responded, not bothering to look up as she answered. Weiss was currently working on her Grimm Studies homework, sitting at her desk in the team dorm. A pen was held loosely between her fingers, a palm pressed against her cheek as the heiress continued to stare blankly at the pages in front of her.

"Oh that's nice," Ruby commented. Then Weiss's words sunk in.

"Wait, what?"

Ruby's head snapped towards her partner, the younger girl also sitting at her desk doing homework. Both of their desks were side by side, next to the door to their dorm on the left. Between them was a bookshelf full of books. Behind them was their bunk beds.

Silver coloured eyes were wide, Ruby staring at Weiss as if she'd just grown another head. "What did you just say?"

"I'm staying on campus for the holidays," Weiss repeated distractedly, the heiress still too engrossed in her boring assignment to have chided Ruby for making her repeat herself.

Truth be told, Weiss' focus was no where near her current homework assignment. Rather, it was on why she was staying on campus in the first place, during what should be one of the most joyous occasions of the year.

An empty house.

A father too busy with work to ever be around.

A lonely heiress.

Movement to her right caught the white haired girl's attention, making blue eyes shift in that direction. Weiss almost instantly jerked back in surprise, nearly falling off her chair in the process, Ruby having suddenly appeared next to her in a flurry of rose petals. There was only inches of space between their faces.

"But why!?" Ruby cried out, over dramatically. The red cloaked teen looked at Weiss in absolute horror.

"Damn it Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed, a hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding so fast right now. And don't even talk about how red her cheeks were. "What have I told you about personal space!?"

Weiss supposed that was not surprising considering she nearly kissed her teammate and leader when she turned her head.

"_Weiss..._" Ruby whined pitifully, making Weiss' eyebrow twitch.

After staring at Ruby's cute pout for the better part of thirty seconds, Weiss finally sighed, hanging her head in defeat. "Ruby," she said.

Ruby brightened a little, though her tone was still sad. "Why are you staying here during the holidays?" The younger girl was clearly having a hard time understanding the situation.

"Don't you want to go home and-"

"There's nothing to go home to," Weiss said, effectively cutting off her leader.

Ruby blinked in confusion for a moment before she gaped at Weiss. The white haired girl couldn't but compare Ruby to a fish out of water right now. She almost laughed.

"But what about that big house you've told us about before?" Ruby started, the scythe wielder wringing her hands in front of her nervously. "And the-"

"It's not my home."

Ruby blinked again. "Huh?"

Weiss sighed again, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. A headache was starting to form.

"I may have grown up there, but now, all it is, is a roof over my head," Weiss explained. "It hasn't truly been home since... well..."

_Since Mama died._

Ruby frowned at her silent teammate. Weiss was being awfully nice to her right now, putting up with all of the questions. Had this been a normal day, the white haired girl would have already shouted at Ruby for interrupting her homework. But this obviously wasn't a normal day. In fact, things had been far from normal for a while now, Ruby realized as she thought about it further. For some reason, the closer it got to winter holidays, the more distant and distracted Weiss became. And now Ruby finally understood why.

"It's settled then!" Ruby exclaimed, bringing down her right fist on her open left palm.

"Pardon?" It was Weiss' turn to blink in confusion.

"You're coming home with me."

It took all of a second for Weiss to process what her leader had say. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're coming home with me," Ruby repeated with a large smile on her face.

"What makes you think-"

"What kind of leader would I be if I left my best teammate all alone now?" Ruby interrupted her, stunning Weiss into silence. "A horrible leader," the younger girl said. "That's what. And a horrible friend."

Weiss pursed her lips. "Really Ruby," Weiss said. "I understand what you're trying to do, but-"

"No buts!"

"Would you let me finish?!"

"Nope!" was Ruby's reply. "Because you're coming with me whether you want to or not." Another cheery smile.

"Ruby-"

"Ahpuppuppup!" the scythe wielder said, doing a surprisingly accurate impression of the Schnee heiress, complete with the dismissive hand wave. "I don't want to hear it."

Weiss wasn't sure if she should have been impressed or furious with that. Maybe both.

"You're coming home with me and that's final!" Ruby stated, crossing her arms over her chest in victory. The smile on Ruby's face was brighter than the sun.

Weiss sighed in defeat. "Fine," she said, earning her a squeal of happiness from her junior partner.

"Alright!" Ruby said, punching a fist into the air, dancing in victory. "We're going home for the holidays together!"

Weiss smiled slightly at her leader's ridiculous display of childishness. As silly and annoying as Ruby was at times, Weiss couldn't argue that this change of scenery may be for the best.

* * *

"You too, huh?"

Blake smiled slightly as Weiss gave her a sour look.

"Yang was rather-"

"Aggravating?" Weiss finished for her.

Blake chuckled. "I was going to say persistent, but aggravating works too."

Both girls stood at the edge of Beacon Academy's docks, where the various Airjets and Airships picked up and dropped off passengers. School was done for the winter holidays now, most students on their way home, not to return until the new year. The docks was a flurry of activity, students rushing to and fro, lugging various pieces of baggage with them.

Dressed in a long white coat with a blue furry scarf and white mittens, Weiss Schnee was the epitome of elegance on that dock. Next to her stood Blake Belladonna, the Faunus bundled up in a long black coat, black mittens and a purple scarf. On the top of her head was a black knitted wool hat, complete with two pointed pockets to accommodate her Faunus ears. They both had two briefcase sized pieces of luggage a piece.

"I take it Ruby was just as convincing?" Blake questioned, a wry sort of smile on her lips.

"Hmpf!" Weiss uttered angrily. "I swear! That girl is going to be the end of me one day."

Amber coloured eyes looked over at the Schnee heiress slyly, a smirk stretching across Blake's face. Weiss had come a long way from when they had originally met her. While she was no longer as uptight and condescending as before, the white haired girl had obviously warmed up to them, to the point of complaining about how annoying everyone was. They all knew, they being Yang, Ruby, and Blake, that Weiss was trying to save face. Weiss never really got annoyed at them, not really. She just hadn't found a way to voice her true feelings about things yet. But that would come in time.

Two familiar figures in red and yellow appeared amongst the crowd.

"Would that really be such a bad thing?" Blake asked, after having left Weiss to stew in silence for a few seconds.

Before Weiss could snap at the smirking cat Faunus for that remark, Ruby's voice immediately drew her attention away.

"Weiiiiiiiisssss!" the youngest girl exclaimed, running full tilt towards them. A trail of rose petals whooshed through the air behind her. "I'm so happy-"

A poor and unsuspecting bystander had the misfortune of walking in front of Ruby right at that exact moment. Velvet Scarletina didn't know what hit her, and still didn't, even as both she and Ruby tumbled to the ground in a heap of limbs and squeaks twenty feet away from Weiss and Blake.

Weiss flinched on the other Faunus' behalf.

"That's got to hurt," Blake said, cringing as Yang ran over to the fallen pair.

"Oh my god! Ruby! Velvet! Are you both alright!?"

Yang's response came in the form of a shaky, pain filled laugh and a dazed mumble.

Weiss sighed, raising a gloved hand to her forehead. After taking a few calming breaths, the heiress then proceeded to storm over to her still dazed partner, much to Blake's amusement.

"Ruby you dolt!" Weiss shouted. Everyone who heard Weiss' voice immediately parted ways to allow her to pass when she came near.

"What have I told you about running and not paying attention!?"

Despite yelling, a small smile was seen on the heiress' lips.

* * *

The man dubbed as _Uncle Qrow_ by both Yang and Ruby was huge! He looked to be at least ten feet tall, with a muscular build enough to rival that of an Ursa Major. Of course, that was a ridiculous exaggeration on Weiss' part, what with her short stature of all of five feet making her feel like a dwarf standing next to the famed hunter, but it couldn't be helped. Never in Weiss' life had she seen such a humongous man. And his Aura, don't even get Weiss started on that. She knew he was suppressing most of it, but of the little that he did allow out, Weiss found herself quickly intimidated.

"Yang," Qrow said, his voice low and menacing upon opening the door and spying his guests.

Yang and Ruby stood before the door and Qrow, Weiss and Blake standing behind their respective partners. Blake tensed next to Weiss, her fingers twitching. The Faunus was caught between drawing her weapon and not, a feeling the heiress shared with her teammate.

"Uncle Qrow," Yang said, as equally low and menacing. Ember Celica deployed on her arms.

Short brown hair adorned Qrow's head, deep brown eyes peering at the group with a sharp and intense gaze. He wore a white vest and black pants, the latter held up by a brown leather belt. Various scars, both long and short, dark and light, could be seen all across bare skin, all of them making the scar on Weiss' face seem trivial in comparison. Combine that all together, and Weiss felt like she was facing off against something worse than the Grimm. Had something happened the last time the sisters were here to lead to this hostile greeting?

The staring match between Yang and Qrow continued on for a few more tense seconds, all the while Weiss and Blake struggled between retreating and going on the defensive. While both teammates could clearly sense just how dangerous Qrow was, neither of them dared to leave their partners behind, Qrow being family or not. Weiss refused to abandon her partner.

Taking in the situation next to Yang, Ruby face palmed and sighed. That small noise made Weiss turn to her, the heiress noticing the youngest of them all staring at her hand, curling her fingers in one by one. Was she counting?

_3... 2... 1... _Ruby mouthed.

"Yang my girl!" Qrow said, flinging his arms wide, an insanely wide smile stretching across his face.

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang exclaimed, the blonde jumping into his arms, hugging him.

Blake and Weiss flinched in surprise at that outburst, both of them watching in confused curiosity as the brawler and her uncle laughed as they embraced each other. Weren't they about to kill each other? Completely confused, Weiss turned to Ruby who gave her a sheepish smile.

"They're always like that," was all Ruby said.

Weiss couldn't but raise an eyebrow at that answer.

Qrow and Yang quickly split apart, allowing the giant of a man to turn his gaze to Ruby.

"Ruby!"

"Hi Uncle Qrow," the team leader of RWBY said, unusually quiet and shy.

"Look at how you've grown!" the man exclaimed before wrapping the younger of the two sisters in a hug, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around in the air.

Ruby laughed. "Uncle Qrow! Stop! Stop it! I'm not a little girl anymore!"

Qrow laughed heartily before setting Ruby down on her feet again. "You'll always be my little girl, Ruby," he said with a warm smile. "No matter how old you get."

"I know," Ruby said, blushing slightly. Yang threw an arm around Ruby's shoulders, giving her a tight squeeze.

A dull ache throbbed within Weiss' breast at that scene, a ghost of a memory from years before now coming to her mind. In it was a young girl with pearl white hair. With the girl was her mother and father, all of them laughing happily as snow fell from the heavens. Sharp brown eyes turned to Weiss and Blake, snapping Weiss out of her reverie.

"And who might these two be?"

Before either Ruby or Yang could say anything, Weiss spoke up.

"Weiss Schnee," the heiress said, doing a little curtsy. "Teammate and friend to Ruby and Yang on Team RWBY."

"Blake Belladonna," Blake said a moment later, following Weiss' lead. She gave a nod to both Ruby and Yang, her arms crossed over her chest. "The same."

Qrow looked at the two of them expressionless for a few seconds. He was testing their resolve, Weiss knew. Even so, as seconds turned into a minute, Weiss forced herself to maintain eye contact, the heiress swallowing thickly as a bead of sweat formed on her brow. Gods! This was worse than facing that damned Nevermore!

Yang looked at Ruby in concern, Ruby shrugging her shoulders to convey her own helplessness in the situation. Just as the blonde opened her mouth to speak, Qrow laughed loudly, making the two under his gaze flinch, Yang and Ruby sighing in relief.

"Any friends of Ruby and Yang are friends of the family," Qrow said, enveloping both Weiss and Blake into a bone crushing hug before either could react.

"You two are welcome here any time."

Weiss stumbled a bit, gasping, as she regained both her footing and breath once the hulk of a man let them go. Blake coughed next to her, the part Faunas as equally breathless as the Schnee heiress. Both of their faces were flushed, and not from exertion. Yang and Ruby quickly came to their aid, Yang wrapping her arms around Blake's shoulders to steady her, while Ruby held onto Weiss' arm.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby admonished her uncle. "What was that!? You almost killed them!"

Qrow had the decency to look sheepish. "Sorry about that," the older man said, scratching the back of his head. "I tend to forget my own strength sometimes."

_"Uncle Qrow!"_ Ruby nearly growled.

A high pitched laugh next to her made Ruby jump. It took the scythe wielder a few seconds to realize that sound was actually coming from her partner. Yang and Blake, along with Ruby looked at Weiss in astonishment. None of them had ever heard the heiress laugh like that before, so carefree and jovial.

"It's alright Ruby," Weiss said, a smile on her face. Blue eyes looked up at the giant named Qrow, the warmth from his eyes soothing the ache in her chest. "I was just surprised. No harm done."

Ruby peered at Weiss unconvinced. "You sure?" she questioned.

Weiss nodded, turning her gaze back to her partner. She gave Ruby another smile. Ruby really liked it when Weiss smiled.

"I'm sure," Weiss said with a nod.

"Alright..." Ruby said, turning back to her uncle again.

As Weiss watched the interaction between them in silence, a small smile remained on her lips. Something about this place was making Weiss feel giddy on the inside.

* * *

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted. "You're not helping!"

Weiss glared at her partner from her cover which was a tree. How Weiss was dragged into this mess, she didn't know. All she knew was that somewhere in between setting their luggage down in their rooms and waiting for dinner (which was a lovely pot roast she was told), it was decided that a snowball fight would be the best way to pass the time. Upon hearing this, Qrow quickly shooed them out into the snowy wonderland of his backyard, leaving the girls to their own devices. Teams were quickly established, that being Weiss and Ruby versus Yang and Blake, and boundaries were set. And now, they were fighting. With nothing but snow. And each other.

How ridiculous!

A snowy impact near her shoulder made Weiss shrink down even further behind her tree.

"Hah!" came Yang's shout across the way.

There was at least twenty feet separating the two teams, snow covered trees and the occasional boulder providing ample coverage for both pairs. Currently, Ruby hid behind a snowbank to Weiss' left, Team White Rose as dubbed by Ruby, sticking closer to Qrow's log cabin. Yang and Blake, otherwise known as Team Black Gold, hunkered down towards the back edge of Qrow's property, using the slew of natural flora of the area, all of which was covered in snow, as their base of operations. Qrow's property backed onto the mountains north of Vale, so it wasn't unusual to have this kind of scenery around.

"If that's all you got, then you both are going to lose!"

"Not a chance!" Ruby yelled back. The red cloaked teen popped her head up to look over her snowbank for a split second, only to drop down again almost instantly, two snowballs sailing wide of where her head once was.

"_Weiss!"_ Ruby hissed, turning towards her.

"I've never done this better!" Weiss shot back, frustration clearly heard in her voice. Much to her embarrassment, Weiss had never took part in a snowball fight before. There just wasn't time for such things, what with her being groomed to be an heiress and all.

"It's easy!" Ruby said. "Pick up a snowball and throw it at Yang or Blake! Just make sure they get hit and you don't."

Ruby had been most kind in explaining how snowball fights worked. From the proper way to make a snowball, to the perfect way to throw it, not once did Ruby laugh at Weiss for this lack of child-like common sense. Yet as nice as Ruby was, learning the theory of things and actually performing them were two different things. And usually, the practical application part of things took time to master.

"Are you kidding me?!" Weiss exclaimed, looking down at the balls of snow gathered at her feet. "It's not that easy, and you know it!"

"_Weiss!"_ Ruby said in irritation.

"_Ruby,"_ Weiss replied, equally irritated.

Both girls flinched when snowballs assaulted their hiding spots, near their heads.

"What's the matter you two!?" Yang taunted. The blonde was practically chortling. "Done already!?"

"Oh shut it blondie!" Weiss snapped, the heiress slowly stooping down to gingerly pick up a snowball.

"Honestly," Weiss muttered, only loud enough for Ruby to hear. "I really don't see the point in all of this."

Weiss stood back up, took a quick glance around her tree, before popping out for split second to throw her projectile at the opposing team. It didn't even fly halfway as far as Yang and Blake were, flopping pitifully to the snow in between.

"It's not like I'm getting anything out of this aside from freezing my fingers off."

Weiss absolutely hated the cold. This fact had shocked her teammates at first, but they quickly came to sympathize with the white haired girl. Blake especially, the Faunus never having liked the cold herself. It was only Ruby and Yang who seemed unaffected by such things, Ruby because of her cloak and Yang because... well... Weiss really wasn't sure how the cold never affected the blonde so much. Ruby had once told her it was because Yang's body temperature was naturally higher than everyone else's, and hence, kept her warmer.

A laugh shattered the quiet air, making Weiss' blood boil.

"Oh you'll have to do better than that Princess!" Yang said. Weiss could practically hear her Cheshire grin through those words.

"Because if that's all you got, you're really in trouble!"

Weiss launched two snowballs at the mocking blonde in tandem as retaliation. Neither snowball hit, Weiss forced behind cover a split second later, to avoid getting hit herself.

"Weiss!" Ruby called.

"Ruby, this really isn't the ti-"

"Weiss," Ruby interrupted. "I swear on all the cookies in the world, if you help me win this fight, I will give you Aunt Anna's white chocolate peppermint fudge brownie recipe."

Blue eyes connected with silver ones.

Ruby was a sneaky bugger, using Weiss' own weakness against her. Weiss had to give her that.

"Deal," the Schnee heiress said. Weiss' attention suddenly went super sharp, the white haired girl focusing on the task at hand.

Ten minutes later, the snowball fight concluded with Ruby and Weiss as the victors. The losers, Yang and Blake, were so utterly buried in snow by the end of it, Weiss and Ruby had to dig them out.

Weiss' Dust glyphs were fascinating things. Who knew her repulsion Dust glyph doubled as both a snowball launcher, complete with pin point accuracy, on top of launching people?

* * *

Weiss sighed happily, the white haired girl swallowing down another gulp of hot chocolate. She sat by the fireplace in the living room, covered up in an Ursa skin with the rest of the team. Like Weiss, they too had their own share of hot chocolate and Ursa skins to keep them warm. Dinner was not quite ready yet, despite the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen, so Team RWBY hung out by the crackling fire in the meantime.

Blue eyes raised from the orange and red embers to the mantle piece. Hanging up on the wall above the fireplace was Onyx Reaper. Onyx Reaper was Qrow's choice weapon, the black scythe just as polished and sharp as it was the first time Qrow got it. It was much bigger than Ruby's scythe Crescent Rose, and while it didn't transform like his niece's own, Onyx Reaper packed one hell of a punch. Similar to Myrtenaster, Onyx Reaper could channel different forms of dust, giving the wielder adaptability in the battlefield. Weiss had never seen the famed hunter wield it, but from what both Yang and Ruby told her, Qrow was quite adept. He had to be. He was the one who taught Ruby after all.

"You alright there, Weiss?"

Weiss blinked, turning from the black scythe on the wall to meet a silver coloured gaze.

"Ruby?"

"You've been very quiet since we came inside."

Weiss looked to Blake and Yang, both girls softly murmuring to each other. Every now and a then, one of them, and at times both of them, burst into giggles, large smiles stretched across their faces. The Schnee heiress smiled, turning her gaze back to her cup of hot cocoa.

"Just... thinking," Weiss said.

There was some shifting next to her, Ruby bumping shoulders with her slightly during that the movement. "Thinking about what?"

Inhaling the lovely sweet scent from her mug, Weiss sighed, leaning her head against Ruby's shoulder without thinking. Ruby bit back a surprised squeak, the scythe wielder sitting up straighter.

"This is nice," Weiss said softly, gazing at the fireplace.

Ruby smiled at that comment, relaxing her posture. "How so?" she asked.

"It just..." Weiss paused. "Is."

Ruby chuckled. "You know, you're always welcome to come back here at anytime, with or without me. I know Uncle Qrow wouldn't mind, especially as Anna isn't around anymore. Yang and I visit when we can, but sometimes it's hard."

"I know."

Yang and Blake continued their quiet conversation somewhere behind Weiss and Ruby, Blake curling into her blonde partner, making the blonde smile.

"Ruby."

"Hmm?" Ruby's eyes were slowly dropping shut, her head leaning against Weiss'. The snowball fight took more out of her than she realized. And Weiss... well, the heiress was so warm and snuggly right now. Ruby's empty mug fell into her lap.

"Thanks for inviting me," Weiss murmured, taking another sip from her mug.

"Mhmm," was Ruby's response, the cloak wearing girl falling asleep soon afterwards.

Weiss could only chuckle when she realized what had happened. Taking the finished mug from her partner's hands and setting it aside, Weiss shifted over a bit, laying Ruby down so that her head rested on Weiss' lap. Yang shot her a shocked look, Blake too seeming surprised by this, but Weiss ignored them. Instead, she gently ran a hand through her slumbering partner's hair and smiled.

For the first time in a long time, Weiss was home.

* * *

_**A/N: **__I've taken liberties with Qrow's character as we don't know much about him yet. I'm not quite sure how I came up with this image of him, but it works. Lol._

_I have no idea how tall the characters are, so I made up the heights._

_I envision Qrow to look something like this: fc04[insertperiod]deviantart[insertperiod]net/fs71/f/2009/364/5/2/Blacksmith_by_ARCHVERMIN[insertperiod]jpg_

_I envision Qrow's scythe to look something like this: wiki[insertperiod]guildwars[insertperiod]com/images/9/9e/Tormented_Scythe[insertperiod]jpg_

_For this story, Ruby's sweet tooth is only rivalled by that of Weiss'. Weiss loves white chocolate. And peppermint._

_Anna is Qrow's deceased wife. She taught Qrow how to make her famed sugary treat before she passed away. Qrow knows how to make a pot roast all on his own. I'm told it tastes very nice. :)_

_Qrow lives in a two storey log cabin in the base of the mountains north of Vale._

_In this story, Weiss' mother is dead and her father is too wrapped up in company business to care about his daughter. Also, being groomed to take over the family business, Weiss was forced to grow into an adult too fast, and was never given time to enjoy the little things kids normally did in their childhoods._

_Also of note, for the purposes of this story, Yang and Ruby's family consists only of Uncle Qrow. Their parents are deceased._


End file.
